Amtrak dome car returns to Adirondack Thursday

Amtrak’s only dome car, a two-level car with a full-length glassed-in top level, will return to service with the Adirondack passenger train between Albany-Rensselaer and Montreal on Thursday. The car will run on the northbound Adirondack Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays, and the southbound Adirondack Fridays, Sundays and Tuesdays, through Oct. 23.

It won’t operate on Wednesdays.

The dome car was originally built by the Budd Co. in 1955 for service on the Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle. Amtrak has owned the car since 1971.

Seating in the upper level is unreserved, and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. The car isn’t able to operate south of the Capital Region because it’s too tall to clear bridges and tunnels.

“Hosting the ‘Great Dome’ car during the autumn months is part of a great and important tradition that both attracts riders and promotes the unparalleled beauty of upstate New York,” said state Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald.

The Trails & Rails program, a partnership between the National Park Service and Amtrak, will provide guides who will describe the history and culture of the region the trains pass through.